Child-molestation convictions and a 24-year prison sentence for a San Mateo County man were overturned yesterday when the State Supreme Court unanimously ruled that he was improperly induced by the judge into giving up his right to a jury trial.

The judge behaved improperly when he "offered to reward (Collins) for refraining from the exercise of a constitutional right," said Chief Justice Ronald George. Such a move was as egregious as threatening to punish a defendant for insisting on a jury trial, according to the judges.

The unanimous ruling entitles Damani Collins, charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in Menlo Park on Dec. 31, 1996, to a new trial. Collins admitted having sex with the girl but said it was consensual, according to court records.

At his June 1997 trial, Collins was asked if he wanted to waive his right to a jury and have Superior Court Judge Craig Parsons decide his guilt. Collins told Parsons he would give up his right to a jury but wondered if he would receive some benefit in return.

Parsons said, "There might well be a benefit," and added, "but I can't tell you what that (benefit) is because I don't know yet."

Collins went to trial before the judge and was convicted of most of the charges against him. An appellate court upheld his convictions, ruling 2 to 1 that he had voluntarily given up the right to a jury, but the Supreme Court disagreed.

The ruling reaffirms "the importance of judges maintaining their stance as neutral arbiters," said Collins' appellate lawyer, Randy Baker. Unlike prosecutors, who can legally offer defendants reduced sentences for guilty pleas, "it's inappropriate for a judge to engage in this kind of bargaining for his convenience."